new tank, couple days old

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
the beneficial bacteria live on surfaces inside the tank and filter. they are not 'free floating' in the water. doing a large water change will not affect the bacteria numbers.

0.5 to 1 ppm ammonia is deadly for fish. do a minimum 75% water change right now. use Prime. a 25% change will only remove 25% of the ammonia, so if your ammonia is at 1 ppm, then after a 25% water change you still have 0.75 ppm ammonia, which can be lethal to fish.

as for the test kits, did you get the dip strips or the liquid test kits that use drops of regents and vials?

as for davdev's comment about the 'bacteria in bottle' (Cycle) being a necessity, no it isn't. as long as you keep the ammonia and nitrites at zero, and do those water changes, your fish will not be in danger. correct on the not adding of any more fish now though.
 
builtf0rdtough said:
oops. lol I just got back from the store and bought an ammonia tester and a 6 piece tester for the rest. I tested the ammonia and it was .5-1, which isn't very high....but I added 3 more ghost cats, the lady said they are hardy fishies and should be fine, when the ammonia gets any higher ima do 25% changes until it comes down, wont I loose a lot of the BB with 50% or more water changes?I added a decent size piece of drift wood that was already in the water tanks with fish from pet-co....which I guess was probably in there for a while since it had algae all over it, so there some BB right? plus I have 6 plants...wont all that keep the ammonia down as the plants eat the ammonia?
Its confusing as almost everyone says something different to me and Im trying to fit everything all in to one technique. I suppose whats done is done and now all I can do is try and make everything pleasent for the fish.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear that you added more fish. Let's put it this way, this "hardy fish" crap from the LFS is total B.S.! When you get amonia spikes (which you are going to get), it's like taking a flame thrower to you fish's gills, causing permanent damage!

As Big fish mommy stated, you are going to have to do BIG WC's the minute you start to see amonia levels. Be vigilant and stay on top of it!
 
I did the same as you when I first got my tank up. All was good at first, but then my ammonia spiked up a lot because of all the fish I added and with now bacteria in it to convert it, it was a a death trap. All my fish got sick and I lost 80 bucks worth of fish. Now I'm just waiting and doing a fishless cycle the right way.
 
As a word of advice for the future... not all LFS' (Local Fish Shops) can be trusted... at the end of the day they are a business and out to make money... if they teach everyone how to keep their fish properly and healthy for say 10+ years at a time, there aren't going to be too many repeat customers...

Just my 0.2 cents... oh and welcome to the addiction...
 
Follow these directions exactly:
Go buy a bottle of Seachem Stability. Take it home and do a 75% water change using Seachem Prime as your water conditioner (if you don't have some, buy some when you pick up the Stability) and use a double dose of it (so 1 whole capful). After water change, dose your tank with Stability according to the label everyday until you get a constant 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite reading, with some nitrates.
Don't add anything else to the tank fish wise or chemical wise. Don't mess with your ph, add any other crap they try to sell you, just do what is listed above. You can add more fish when your cycle is complete.

All of your fish need to be kept in bigger groups BTW. Good luck, welcome to the hobby. :)
 
Try not to worry too much. Some people are too overly concerned with the cycle process. it really is simple and natural. Dont overstock. Dont overfeed. Use aids such as carbon, zeolite, Seachems purigen, Non iodized salt, etc, and plants if your THAT worried (the ones I listed are recomended as they will take in alot of nutrients (stuff that is bad for your fish) outcompeting even algae! Im sure as a kid we all had a small ten gallon tank that we didnt care for (broke all the rules)or know about nearly as much as we do now and still achived success. Im lucky I live in Hawaii! Our water and climate is perfect for tropical fish and I dont have to waste my money on those nasty chemicals or even a heater! YUCK! I still haven't even bought a water test kit in my nearly 20 years of fish keeping LOL. Those fish you chose in my opinion can be hardy but they also can be delicate especially for a beginner. I have seen people even have trouble with guppies... LOL. I keep five different strains of fancy guppies in 20-30 gallon buckets outside and can't keep them from breeding - no water changes and no filters just natural ones(plants)! I just toss and trim the plants as they get overgrown (essentially waterchanges). Oh, and to the guy that lost 80$ worth of fish are you sure they wern't already sick when you bought them? Be careful and buy fish only if you see that the whole tank is healthy (unless your really ready to deal with diseases/parasites). If even one fish is sick that means the disease/parasite is in the water. Moving fish stresses them out and during the time you net them and bring them home they are more susceptable to becoming sick even if they weren't looking sick at the store. They should all be healthy and eating. Watch out for places like Petco! They run their tanks all on one system so if one tank has a disease/parasite you know it is in all of thir tanks!! On a side note if you are going to buy expensive hard to aquire fish that we move onto past our beginner stage it is wise to follow all the rules and make double sure that every thing is right before you accuire your new prize specimen! Relax and enjoy... It really isnt that difficult. If you fail you'll live and learn like most of us did. Personal experience is best.;).
 
What amazes me is you couldnt find ANY info on cycling a fish tank on this site?! Trust me theres everything you need to know on here you just gotta use the search tool!
Did you not learn about the nitrogen cycle at school when you were a kid? Its a good start!

Anyways, you cant have looked too hard for info as all you have to do is type "cycling an aquarium" into google and you will have 1000's of pages of info. I think its more a case of impatience than "cant find info." to be honest.

Dont worry to much tho, we've all done it at some point. My flatmate just got a tank and fish all on the same day with no probs, he's just gotta keep up with those daily water changes to keep those fish alive tho, you'll need to do the same!
 
ok, well now Ive had my tank for almost 4 months and I feel like it still hasnt cycled. Have to change my water every few days, maybe can go a week and itll go to 1ppm ammonia...whats going on with this?
 
Possibly because of the fish inside producing to much waste and there isn't enough bacteria to break it down?

Be careful, ammonia is deadly towards fishes, I would have nothing but 0ppm acceptable. Maybe you should return your fish and start over?

Btw, this is off topic, but in your pics I thin you have corn plants, a bog plant, but not truly aquatic. It will eventually rot in an aquarium,

Hope this helps you with your tank.
 
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